My phone buzzes with a text from one of my contacts at the warehouse
Sven: Footage from last night is corrupted. Can't get clear images.
Perfect.
Sven: Found something interesting though. Security guard says he saw someone leaving through the back. Said they were too small to be one of our guys.
Fuck.
Me: Send me his info. I'll interview him personally.
The response is immediate
Sven: Will do.
I need to handle this before anyone else starts putting the pieces together.
After some light digging, I find out the guard's name is Ben. He works almost constantly and has a daughter in college he's putting through school on warehouse security wages.
Easy leverage if I need it. Easy pressure point.
But I'm hoping I won't need to apply pressure and can just make this go away quietly. Cleanly. Without adding more bodies to the pile Sofiya and I are creating. My phone buzzes again.
Sofiya: Are you okay?
Three words. That's all. But they carry weight. The acknowledgment that what we did—what we shared—changed things between us. I shouldn't respond. Should focus on the job instead of the woman who's currently destroying everything I've built. But she was in my bed last night, body pressed against mine. Her scars under my fingers, and her trust offered up like something precious.
Me: Fine. Stay low today. Don't go to Lush.
Sofiya: Why?
Me: Pakhan's investigating Igor's death. Interviewing everyone.
Sofiya: I'm scheduled for tonight.
Me: Call in sick.
Sofiya: That'll look suspicious.
She's right. Dammit. Changing patterns now would raise flags.
Me: Fine. But stay visible. Stay in public areas. Don't go anywhere alone.
Sofiya: You mean don't kill anyone else?
Me: Exactly.
Sofiya: Where's the fun in that?
Despite everything, the danger, the investigation, the tightrope we're walking,I smile.
Me: Save it for who deserves it.
Sofiya: Planning on it.
I pocket my phone and head to my car. The city stretches out before me—Phoenix in all its sprawling, ugly glory. Full of violence it pretends doesn't exist.
I've spent fifteen years serving the Pakhan. Over a decade building his empire. Bleeding for it. Killing for it. Becoming the weapon he needed me to be. Now I'm using everything he taught me to destroy him. The irony isn't lost on me.
